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USA TODAY
December 3, 1991, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION
Truck show doesn't stir sleeping bears
BYLINE: Ross Forman
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 2C
LENGTH: 216 words
Two of Fred Shafer's biggest fans skipped the USHRA Monster Truck Racing World Finals Sunday, just so they could sleep.
But Shafer didn't argue with North American black bears Sugar and Spice - it's hibernation season.
Shafer, who finished second in this year's point totals, went to his first monster truck race in 1980, when the bears weighed only about 75 pounds.
''I just put them in the front cab of my truck and brought them along,'' he said. ''When I got to the show, everyone asked what was the name of my truck, but I didn't have one.
''So the people said, 'How about Bear Foot, since you have the bears and the 66-inch-tall tires look like claws?'
''And the name's stuck.''
Sugar and Spice now weigh 350 and 550 pounds, respectively. Sugar, a female, is 5-5. Spice, a male, is 7 feet. Each has about a 60-inch waist.
But the 5-7, 170 Shafer towers over both when it comes to control - or so it seems.
''When they were younger they got into the chicken house and were eating the chicken eggs,'' said Shafer, 44. ''I yelled at them. I shook my finger at them and slapped them on the nose. They remember that and still think I can beat 'em up.
''It's a bluff, but if you ever back down from them, you're in trouble. I just love animals, especially my bears,'' he said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTO; b/w
CUTLINE: FLYING 'BEAR FOOT': Fred Shafer, who finished second in this year's point standings, steers through competition in his monster truck, which he named after pet North American black bears.
TYPE: Sportstalk
Copyright 1991 Gannett Company Inc.
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